The invention relates to a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor body of silicon having at a first main surface a conductor structure consisting of conductor tracks which are spaced apart, which comprise silicon of opposite conductivity types and which are connected to each other in an electrically conducting manner.
With the increasing reduction of the dimensions of constructional elements in integrated circuits, inter alia in order to obtain a higher packing density, use is increasingly made of self-aligning techniques. In these techniques, especially polycrystalline semiconductor materials, notably polycrystalline silicon, are increasingly utilized. Parts of a polycrystalline silicon track then act also as a doping source for the subjacent semiconductor material after having been doped in a suitable manner. However, the case may then arise that in one polycrystalline conductor track different dopants are provided, which, though they cause regions of different conductivity types to be formed in the subjacent semiconductor body, as a consequence may give rise to the formation of an undesired pn junction in the conductor track.
Such an undesired pn junction may be short-circuited by a conductive connection in the form of a strip of conducting material provided between the oppositely-doped tracks. Dependent upon the technology used, various solutions of this problem have been suggested. The conductive material may be provided afterwards by providing a metal strip on the pn junction or by silicidation of the silicon on either side of the pn junction (see for example Dutch Patent Application Nr. 8105920 laid open to public inspection on July 18.sup.th 1983 and Japanese Kokai Nr. 56-94671).
A semiconductor device of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph is known from Dutch Patent Application Nr. 8105559 laid open to public inspection on July 1.sup.st, 1983. In this Application, the oppositely doped tracks of polycrystalline silicon to be connected to each other are spaced apart by a certain distance and are separated from each other by a groove generally filled with oxide.
In Patent Application Nr. 810559, two such regions are mutually shortcircuited by means of a layer of conductive material which is provided beforehand at the area of the groove (see for example FIGS. 39 to 45 of the Application).
In practice, however, to obtain simpler processing, such a connection is perferably provided afterwards, together with other conductor tracks, contact metallizations or, for example, a metal which forms a Schottky diode with the subjacent silicon.